A coroner’s investigation has determined that the Goleta-area couple who died mysteriously last month were victims of carbon-monoxide poisoning.
John “Jay” and Kristen Ruskey were found unresponsive at a private residence in the Cambria area of San Luis Obispo County on Feb. 8, San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s spokesperson Tony Cipolla said.
Deputies responded to the scene, and the call for service resulted in a coroner’s investigation, he said.
The SLO County Coroner determined that Jay Ruskey, 53, died of toxic effects of carbon monoxide, and Kristen Ruskey, 49, died of toxic effects of carbon monoxide and ethyl alcohol, Cipolla said in a statement Thursday.
Their deaths have been ruled accidental.
“A combination carbon monoxide/smoke detector was found in their room, but it was found to be disconnected,” Cipolla said.
Officials had not released any public information about the deaths until Thursday, other than to say they weren’t considered suspicious.
The Ruskeys’ passings were characterized as sudden and unexpected by loved ones who were also waiting for news.
The investigation had been pending toxicology results, Cipolla said.
The Ruskeys were well known and respected owners of Good Land Organics, an exotic fruit and coffee farm on Farren Road west of Goleta. Jay Ruskey also cofounded FRINJ Coffee.
The community has rallied behind their family, which includes their three children — 19-year-old Kasurina and 16-year-old twins Aiden and Sean.
Friends, family and coworkers helped organize a GoFundMe account to financially support the children, and it had raised more than $176,000 as of Thursday.
The donations will be managed and distributed by Brent Waldman, a family friend and certified court receiver, organizers wrote in an update.
“The Ruskeys were caring and generous members of our community” who were “loving and fiercely engaged parents to their cherished children,” GoFundMe organizer Jose Caballero wrote.
“We are all at a loss to navigate this unimaginable loss, but we are reaching out for support to help the Ruskey family with funeral costs, memorial arrangements, and to alleviate immediate financial pressure,” he wrote.
“Any donation, no matter how small, is deeply appreciated as we honor Jay and Kristen’s memory by supporting their children.”